The priests themselves kept watch on three dif ferent posts, and the Levites on twenty-one posts.
It was the duty of the police of the temple to prevent women from entering the inner court, and to take care that no person who was Levitically unclean should enter within the sacred precincts. Gentiles were permitted to pass the first enclo sure, which was therefore called the Court of the Gentiles ; but persons who were on any account Levitically unclean were even not permitted to advance thus far. Sotne sorts of uncleanness—for instance that arising from the touch of a corpse— excluded only from the court of the men. If an unclean person had entered by mistake, he was re quired to offer sacrifices of purification. The high priest himself was forbidden to enter the holy of holies under penalty of death on any other day but the day of atonement (Philo, Opp. ii. 591). No body was admitted within the precincts of the temple who carried a stick or a basket, and who wanted to pass merely to shorten his way, or who had dusty shoes (Aliddoth, ii. 2).
The various office-bearers in the temple were called crrparTyol leporl, captains or officers of the temple (Luke xxii. 52), while their chief waz simply designated erparn-ydr.
During the final struggle of the Jews against the Romans, A. D. 70; the temple was the last scene of the tug of war. The Romans rushed from the tower Antonia into the sacred precincts, the halls of which were set on fire by the Jews themselves. It was against the will of Titus that a Roman soldier threw a firebrand into the northern out buildings of the temple, which caused the confla gration of the whole structure, although Titus him self endeavoured to extinguish the fire (Joseph. De yud. vi. 4). One cannot but wonder at the accuracy of this period thereto relating ; for the same month and day were now observed, as I said before, wherein the holy house vvas burnt formerly by the Babylonians. Now, the number of years that passed from its first foundation, which was laid by King Solomon, till this its destnaction, which happened in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, are collected to be one thousand one hundred and thirty, besides seven months and fifteen days ; and from the second building of it, which was done by Haggai, in the second year of Cyrus the king, till its destruction under Vespasian, there were six hundred and thirty-nine years and forty-five days.' The sacred utensils, the golden table of the shew bread, the book of the law, and the golden candle stick, were displayed in the triumph at Rome.
Representations of them are still to be seen sculp tured in relief on the triumphal arch of Titus (comp. Fleck's 14/Issenschaftliche Reire, r, plate i.-iv. ; and Reland, De spar Templi Hierosolymitani in arcu Trtiazzo, edit. E. A. Schulze, Traject. ad Rh. 1775. The place where the temple bad stood seemed to be a dangerous centre for the rebellious population, until, in A.D. 136, the emperor Had rian founded a Roman colony, under the name Capitolina, on the ruins of Jerusalem, and dedicated a temple to Jupiter Capicolinus on the ruins of the temple of Jehovah. Henceforth no Jew was permitted to approach the site of the an cient temple, although the worshippers of Jehovah were in derision compelled to pay a tax for the maintenance of the temple of Jupiter. Comp. Dion Cassius (Xiphil.) lxix. 12 ; Hieron. ad .7es. ii. 9 ; vi. 1, seq. ; Euseb. Hist. Eccles. iv. 6 ; De mons/ratio Evangelica, viii. IS. Under the reign of Constantine the Great some Jews were severely punished for having attempted to restore the tem ple (comp. Fabricii Lux Evangelii, p. I24).
The emperor Julian undertook, A.D. 363, to re build the temple ; but after considerable prepara tions and much expense, he was compelled to desist by flames which burst forth from the foundations (comp. Ammianus Marcellinus, xxiii. ; Socrates, Hist. Eccles. iii. 2o; Sozomen, v. zz; Theodor etus, 15 ; Schriickh, Kirchen Geschichte, vi. 385, seq.) Repeated attempts have been made to account for these igneous explosions by natural causes ; for instance, by the ignition of gases which had long been pent up in subterraneous vaults (comp. Michaelis, Zerstr. kZ Schrift. iii. 453, seq.) A similar event is mentioned by Josephus (Antiq. xvi. 7. 1), where we are informed that Herod, while plundering the tombs of David and Solomon, was suddenly frightened by flames which burst out and killed two of his soldiers, Bishop Warburton con tends for the miraculousness of the event in his dis course Concerning the Earthquake and Fiery Erup tion which defeated elian's Attempt to rebuild the Temple of .rzysalenz. Comp. also J. G. Lotter, Historia Instaurationis Templi Hierosolymitani sub 7nliano, Lips. 1728, 4to ; J. G. Michaelis (F. Holzfuss) Diss. de Templi Ilierosolyntitani mandato per yudays frustra tentata restitutione, Hal. 1751, 4to ; Lardner's Collection of Ancient Yewislz and Heathen Testimonies, iv. p. 57, seq. ; Ernesti, Theol. Bibl. ix. 604, seq.) R. Tourlet's French Translation of the works of Julian, Paris 1Sn, tom. ii. p. 435, seq., contains an examination ofithe evidence concerning this remarkable event. See also Jost's Geschichte der Israeliten, iv. p. 211 and 254, s;.q. ; and Jost's Allgenzeine Geschichte des yzidischen Volkes, vol. ii. p. 158.
A splendid mosque now stands on the site of the temple. This mosque was erected by the caliph Omar after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Sara cens, A.D. 636. It seems that Omar changed a Christian church, that stood on the ground of the temple, into this mosque, which is called El Aksa, Me outer, or northern, because it is the third of the most celebrated mosques, two of which-viz. those of Mecca and Medina-are in a more southern latitude.
Compare on the whole subject Ugolino, tom. viii. 9 ; Lightfoot, Descriptio Templi Hierosolymitani, Opp. i. p. 533, seq. ; J. Bapt. Villalpando et Pradi, in Ezechiel ; J. Jud. Leonis, libri quatuor, Templo tam priori quam poster. ex /Mr.
Lat. vers. a J. Saubert, Helmst. 1665, 4to ; L. Capelli, Tptcrd-ycov, sive Triplex Templi delineatio, Amst. 1643, 4to - this is also inserted in the Critiei Anglicani, tom. viii., and in the first vol. of Walton's Polyglott ; Lightfoot, Descr. Templz Hierosol. in Opp. p. 553, ed. 1686 ; Harenberg, in a'. .b'rem. re. Vera'isch. Bthlioth. iv. 1, seq. ; 573, seq. ; 879, seq. ; Bh. Lamy, De tabern. foed. urbe Ilieros. et de Templo, Par. 1720, seq. ; Hirt, Der Tempel Salomons, Berl. 1809, 4to m. 3 Kpirn. Stieglitz, Gesch. der Baulertnst, Numb. 1827, p. 125, seq. ; Less, Beitriige ZitY Geschich. cl. Ausbila'. Baukunst, Leipz. 1834, i. 63, seq. ; V. Meyer, Der Tempel Saloon. Berl. 1830 ; inserted also in Matter f. Where Wahrheit Folge, ; Griineisen, KlellSalali Z. ilf01-gOlbl. 1831, No. 73-75, 77 So ; Bahr, D. Salomon. Tempel, 1848 ; Thenius, Die B. B. der Konlge erkl. Anh. p. 25. Some other works are mentioned by Meuse], Biblioth. Histor. i13, seq. The best works on the antiquities and history of the Jews contain also chapters illustrative of the temple; see also Winer's Real-Worterb. sub Tempel ;' and the art. Tem pel zu Jerusalem,' by Merz in Herzog, Real-E 11 cyd. -C. H. F. B.